Children in Kerala with type-1 diabetes plead for 'sweet treatment'

Parents along with children suffering from type-1 diabetes in Kerala took to the streets in protest against the state government's lackadaisical approach towards their long pending demand to provide insulin pumps and glucose monitoring systems.

The parents lamented over the pain of the children every day due to frequent injections for glucose monitoring and insulin intake.

Kerala government has launched a project named 'Mittayi' (Malayalam word for toffee) in 2018 aimed at alleviating the pain of the Type-1 diabetes victims. But the parents and children, who staged a demonstration at Kozhikode district on Monday, lamented that the 'toffee was not sweet' to alleviate their pain.

Kerala Type-1 diabetes Welfare Society general secretary Abdul Jaleel told DH that even as there were over 5,000 children suffering from Type-1 diabetes in Kerala, only around 1,200 children were covered under the government scheme as their family annual income was above Rs 2 lakh - an eligibility criterion fixed by the government.

Even as the government assured that steps to alleviate pains would be initiated, so far only five children were provided with the automatic insulin pumps.

"The pumps and the chip-based glucose monitoring system are the best solution to relieve the children from the frequent injections. Every child has to suffer several rounds of injections daily for monitoring and insulin intake,' said Jaleel.

Financial obligation is said to be the obstacle for the government as one pump costs around Rs 5 lakh.

At present the government is providing only 50 testing strips, even as at least 200 strips would be required every month and cost of one strip is Rs 18, said Jaleel adding that most families of Type-1 diabetes victims are in deep financial crisis.